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The Twelve Caesars
De vita Caesarum (Latin; lit. "On the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as The Twelve Caesars or The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire during the Principate. The subjects are Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian.
The Twelve Caesars was written in 121 CE by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (called "Suetonius" by scholars) while he served as a personal secretary to the emperor Hadrian. Suetonius dedicated the work to his friend, Gaius Septicius Clarus, a praetorian prefect.
The Twelve Caesars was a large and significant work in its day. Along with the works of Tacitus, it has become an enduring primary source for Classics scholars.
Historians often criticize the book as being racy, sensationalist, overly reliant on gossip, and forfeiting accuracy for drama or humor. Suetonius appears to rely heavily on hearsay and rumor in his accounts, and at times he includes subjective opinions within otherwise objective knowledge. He also omits several important events for unknown reasons.[citation needed]
Although he was never a senator himself, Suetonius took the side of the Senate in most conflicts with the princeps, as well as the Senate's views on the emperor. This resulted in biases, both conscious and unconscious. Suetonius lost access to the official archives shortly after beginning his work. He was forced to rely on secondhand accounts when it came to Claudius (with the exception of the letters of Augustus, which had been gathered earlier) and does not quote the emperor.[citation needed]
Despite these critiques, scholars agree that the collection does provide some valuable information on the heritage, personal habits, physical appearance, lives, and political careers of the first Roman emperors, largely due to the inclusion of minute details not included in other works. Suetonius remains the major source on the lives of certain emperors, including, Caligula, Claudius, and Vespasian, especially since other sources are currently lost to history (such as the relevant sections of Tacitus' Annals).
Suetonius begins this section with the death of Caesar's father, when Caesar himself was sixteen years old. Suetonius describes Caesar's relationship with a wealthy woman named Cossutia at this time, and then recounts his engagement to Cornelia during the civic strife. He also relates Caesar's military conquests, especially those in Gaul, and his Civil War against Pompey the Great. To characterize Caesar during the war, Suetonius quotes him in a battle that he nearly lost: "That man [Pompey] does not know how to win a war". Suetonius also includes one of Caesar's most famous decrees, "Veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered).
One memorable incident that Suetonius describes is when a young Caesar was captured by pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. Caesar amusedly insisted that the initial ransom they sought in return for his life was too low, and he ordered the pirates to raise the price to 50 talents. He spent the remainder of his time in captivity addressing them as subordinates, participating in their games and exercises, and forcing them to listen to his speeches and poetry. He also promised that upon being freed, he would one day find the pirates and crucify them, a standard punishment for piracy during this time. He was released after about one month of captivity following the ransom payment of 50 talents. Caesar, despite holding no command or public office, quickly managed to raise an army entirely on his own, capture the pirates, and crucify them. He additionally recovered the 50 talents.
The Twelve Caesars
De vita Caesarum (Latin; lit. "On the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as The Twelve Caesars or The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire during the Principate. The subjects are Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian.
The Twelve Caesars was written in 121 CE by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (called "Suetonius" by scholars) while he served as a personal secretary to the emperor Hadrian. Suetonius dedicated the work to his friend, Gaius Septicius Clarus, a praetorian prefect.
The Twelve Caesars was a large and significant work in its day. Along with the works of Tacitus, it has become an enduring primary source for Classics scholars.
Historians often criticize the book as being racy, sensationalist, overly reliant on gossip, and forfeiting accuracy for drama or humor. Suetonius appears to rely heavily on hearsay and rumor in his accounts, and at times he includes subjective opinions within otherwise objective knowledge. He also omits several important events for unknown reasons.[citation needed]
Although he was never a senator himself, Suetonius took the side of the Senate in most conflicts with the princeps, as well as the Senate's views on the emperor. This resulted in biases, both conscious and unconscious. Suetonius lost access to the official archives shortly after beginning his work. He was forced to rely on secondhand accounts when it came to Claudius (with the exception of the letters of Augustus, which had been gathered earlier) and does not quote the emperor.[citation needed]
Despite these critiques, scholars agree that the collection does provide some valuable information on the heritage, personal habits, physical appearance, lives, and political careers of the first Roman emperors, largely due to the inclusion of minute details not included in other works. Suetonius remains the major source on the lives of certain emperors, including, Caligula, Claudius, and Vespasian, especially since other sources are currently lost to history (such as the relevant sections of Tacitus' Annals).
Suetonius begins this section with the death of Caesar's father, when Caesar himself was sixteen years old. Suetonius describes Caesar's relationship with a wealthy woman named Cossutia at this time, and then recounts his engagement to Cornelia during the civic strife. He also relates Caesar's military conquests, especially those in Gaul, and his Civil War against Pompey the Great. To characterize Caesar during the war, Suetonius quotes him in a battle that he nearly lost: "That man [Pompey] does not know how to win a war". Suetonius also includes one of Caesar's most famous decrees, "Veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered).
One memorable incident that Suetonius describes is when a young Caesar was captured by pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. Caesar amusedly insisted that the initial ransom they sought in return for his life was too low, and he ordered the pirates to raise the price to 50 talents. He spent the remainder of his time in captivity addressing them as subordinates, participating in their games and exercises, and forcing them to listen to his speeches and poetry. He also promised that upon being freed, he would one day find the pirates and crucify them, a standard punishment for piracy during this time. He was released after about one month of captivity following the ransom payment of 50 talents. Caesar, despite holding no command or public office, quickly managed to raise an army entirely on his own, capture the pirates, and crucify them. He additionally recovered the 50 talents.
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